Novelty
by Paramour Party
Summary: A chronicle of Hermione Granger and Derek Morgan's growing relationship. No.1: Derek meets Hermione in a bookshop and he is intrigued (or as Spencer would put it "You really can't go anywhere without getting a number can you?").
1. Something New

**Novelty**  
_Something New_  
By: Paramour Party

She was a pretty little thing but that wasn't what caught Derek's curiosity. Well, it wasn't the _only_ thing. What sparked something in him was the fact that this woman stood, no more than 5'4", and the energy surrounding her was almost palpable. It was an electric charge that screamed of power and warning, and it demanded attention. Danger from such a charming and non-threatening form? He wasn't sure if he should heed the warning or find it appealing. Who was he kidding? It was more than appealing.

She stood on the tips of her toes turned away from him and he couldn't help but appreciate her assets in the snug pair of jeans she wore. One toned arm stretched up reaching for a book while her other one held four heavy looking texts against her hip.

Realizing that he was staring, Derek looked away towards Boy Genius who stood further down the room in the used-book shop where they were wasting time in. Or rather, he was wasting time... Derek noticed Reid had already zipped through two "small" books and was already looking for a third to absorb.

Coming to the decision that Reid was enjoying himself, Derek stepped towards the young woman and pretended to browse through the bookcases full of history texts. When he was close enough, he couldn't help but take in another appreciative glance. She was a little taller than he estimated but she still didn't reach his shoulders. Her hair, brown voluminous curls, seemed to be what added to her height. He turned away for a moment to pull out the first book his hand touched (a book on Vikings), and noticed her glance towards him. He wondered if he sparked some curiosity in her like she had him, but her attention on him lasted only for a second and she was back to reading.

The woman was younger than him, most likely closer to Reid's age. Not a stunner model type, she had a rather muted beauty that someone could miss on the first glance. Her clothes and make-up were simple if not a little plain making her just another face in the crowd. However, her presence prevented her from blending in; there was no way someone like him could miss it. It was a subtle pulse of power but impossible to ignore once acknowledged.

A small list of conversation starters flew through Derek's mind but a younger boy cuts his musing short when they almost collide. The woman's reflexes were quick and her free (and by free, the one holding only one book) arm was out steadying the boy before she even looked away from the bookcase. "Teddy," she admonished as she turned to look at him.

The boy, Teddy, gave her a sheepish grin. "I didn't mean to!" He chanced a glance at Derek, intimidated for a moment by the older man's imposing figure, and mumbled a shy apology. Derek just shared a grin of his own and shook the boy's worries away with his reassurances. At that, the boy's energy returned full force when he turned to the woman. "I wanted to show you this book I found, Alpha!" Derek noticed a slight accent as the boy spoke but he couldn't be too sure. Maybe the UK, he surmised while he glanced at book's cover that Teddy thrust towards the woman's face. "It's all about American werewolves!"

She smiled and leaned forward. "Add it to my pile. I'll just pick out one more book and then we can go grab something to eat."

Teddy's grin widened as he added to the stack of books in her arms. With a quick "Thanks!" he was off to the kids' section again. She shook her head at the energetic boy and Derek knew it was now or never to strike up a conversation.

"Werewolves seem to be all the rage these days... is that why he calls you Alpha?" he asked her.

She tensed for a moment, caught off guard by his comment, but she smiled and nodded. "One of the reasons," she replied with no notion of elaborating.

Her eyes studied him for a moment and then the rest of her tension eased away. Though, despite the lack of nerves, Derek could see she still held her guard up. For a short instant he wondered why that was but pushed the thought aside for another time. "Does that mean you call him Beta?"

She shook her head as she readjusted the books in her hand. As she did so, Derek noticed the absence of a ring but knew that wasn't conclusive to anything. He'd need more clues than a ring to figure her status out. "No, Beta would be his Uncle Ron. We tend to call him Cub or Pup," she replied with a shrug; there was a smile on her face that held genuine affection. Derek couldn't tell if she directed that affection towards the boy, the uncle, or both. Was Teddy her son? Brother maybe? He tried to think of a way to ask and keep the conversation going, but she'd already turned her attention back to the bookcase and her books.

He sighed mentally and contemplated giving up; however, with her open stance turned somewhat towards him he managed to dissuaded himself from that train of thought. She wasn't completely disinterested by his presence… perhaps just focused on her task?

To prevent himself from blatant staring, Derek turned back towards the bookcase and looked down at the book in his hands. What was wrong with him? Why did he find it so hard to talk to her? When did Derek Morgan ever have trouble with his charm? There was movement from his left and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She had an amused smile on her face.

She turned to him as she shelved one book and pulled out the one next to it (a peek at the cover told him it was on Norse Mythology). "Staring at your book isn't going to help you gauge the quality of the text. And I don't mean to be forward, but I don't think you came to the history section for a book." Points went to her for being observant and he wondered how long she knew.

Guilty-as-charged smile on, he faced her with his hands up in surrender. "You're right." She stared, her curious eyes studied him like another text and she was reading all his secrets.

"Hermione Granger," she introduced as she stuck her free hand out.

Her hand was small compared to his but her grip was firm. "Derek Morgan."

"A pleasure."

All pretences of being in that section for a book gone, he leaned against the bookcase and offered to hold some of her books. She didn't take his offer but she expressed her appreciation.

"What brings you across the pond then?" he asked.

"I'm here for my job. Well. I'm only starting in a month but I thought it would be good to get accustomed to everything here and settle in," she replied, "I hadn't realized how slow moving could be."

He rose his eyebrows. "Big move then?"

Hermione nodded. "Probably a permanent one. Although, I'm treating Virginia more like home-base. My job requires me to travel quite a bit."

"I'm surprised you changed home-base then," he said.

"My friends say the same thing but I think the new surroundings will be good for me." At that response Derek wondered whether something went wrong back home but that thought flew out the window when she smiled at him. This was a different smile. It was a pretty one, not reserved like the ones before and he took that as a good sign. Open. Interested? "I'm assuming you live in the city? What brings you to this lovely book shop if not to shop for books?"

Derek nodded in Boy Genius's direction. "I'm waiting for him to pick out a book or five before meeting up with a friend of ours for movie night."

From then, conversation flowed easy and Derek couldn't be sure how long they'd been standing in that little alcove; before they knew it Teddy came rushing back with another book in hand (this one about dragons). The boy slowed down this time, hesitation in his steps when he realized they were conversing. Hermione decided for Teddy by pulling him close into a side hug. "This is Teddy," she said before looking down at him, "Cub, this is Derek."

Teddy grinned up at Derek worries gone. Derek observed the mood change and noted the caution towards strangers. "Lupin! I'm Edward Remus Lupin, but everyone calls me Teddy! It's nice to meet you," the boy said with as much enthusiasm as any boy his age could have.

Introductions done, Teddy held up the new book in hands. "Can I have this one too, Alpha?" he asked shyly.

Hermione laughed and ruffled his hair making him pout. "Of course you can, Cub." She took the book from him and added it to the pile. Next, she pulled a cell phone from the small beaded purse that hung across her torso and handed it to the boy. "Why don't you call Harry and tell him we're just about done here. He should be at the coffee shop across the street." Teddy nodded and ran off, phone on his ear, "And be careful, Teddy!" she called but he was already out the door.

She sighed and Derek chuckled. "Boys will be boys," he said and she laughed in response.

"You got that right in one." Derek grabbed the top three books that were slipping from her pile. "Thanks," she said as they made their way to the cashier.

"You're welcome," he replied as she paid for her purchases. From the corner of his eye, Derek could see Teddy and a man with dark hair standing by the store entrance. Teddy's wild gesticulating about werewolves and dragons kept most of the man's attention but Derek knew a part of it was on himself and Hermione.

Before they could split ways Derek reached for his wallet. "Hermione, how about, when you're settled in and free, I'll show you around town?"

She stared up at him for a moment before nodding. "It would be nice to have a proper guide to the city."

"Sounds like a plan then," he pulled out his card from his wallet and held it out to her. A shy Hermione accepts it and her lips quirked once she noticed the FBI insignia but doesn't mention anything. She fumbled with her purse for a moment and pulled out a pen. Hermione then grabbed his hand and turned it palm up to write.

He grinned at her neat script and number. "We'll be in touch soon then," he promised.

"I should hope so! It was really nice meeting you." She gave him a wide and bright grin.

"Nice meeting you too," he replied before he watched her walk away towards the other man and Teddy. The man said something about prowling for more than books at libraries and bookstores that earned him a smack to the back of the head. Derek's grin stretched in amusement as he turned away from them and back to his forgotten friend.

He tapped Boy Genius on the shoulder who gave a startled jump. "Oh! Is it time to go?" Spencer asked as he glanced at his watch with widening eyes. "You let me browse for more than an hour? What happened to Emily and Penelope? Is movie night cancelled?"

Derek glanced at his own watch for the first time since entering the shop. "Shit. I didn't realize how much time passed."

Spencer rose a brow then noticed the blue marks on his friend's hand and rolled his eyes. "You really can't go anywhere without getting a number can you?"

On other occasions, this would have been where Derek would give him that annoying smirk, but instead, Spencer received a smile. "You know me," Derek said brushing aside the topic. Spencer blinked but didn't say anything. He did know Derek and something told him that this girl might be something different... maybe.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it! :D Before you go~

Here are some Notes:

This will be a series of one shots/drabbles that take place behind the scenes of a larger piece I'm currently working on called "Something Like Magic" (part case-fic / part slice of life). These shorts take place either before or during SLM. This will focus on Derek and Hermione's budding friendship/relationship over time. I haven't seen all of CM's season 7-9. I'm going to be using their real ages (Derek being born in 1973; Hermione in 1979). This and Something Like Magic will disregard a few things from the Harry Potter-verse but it's mostly canon to the books. For the Criminal Minds-verse, the timeline is a little skewed because I'm assuming the year the season airs is the year the story takes place and that won't be the case for this 'verse. If something that happened in season 5 or 6 is referenced even though it technically hasn't happen yet timeline-wise, it has in my story. Not all cases presented/mentioned in this 'verse will be canon to the CM-verse.

If you're curious, this piece takes place in 2005 (Something Like Magic will take place during 2007-8).

Ages:

Derek - 32 / Hermione - 26 / Teddy - 7

If you have any other questions or comments please leave a review and I'll be more than happy to answer them! :)

Paramour Party Out~


	2. American Flavoured

**Novelty**  
_American Flavoured_  
By: Paramour Party

Hermione yawned as she padded into her new living room. Her best friend, The Boy-Who-Lived, was already lounging on her couch with a steaming mug of tea waiting for her in his hands. She plopped down next to him, curled her legs underneath her, and accepted the mug with a grateful smile. She hummed in appreciation at soothing sensation the tea offered her.

"Teddy finally asleep?" he asked. Hermione leaned into Harry's side while he wrapped an arm around her for a better fit and comfort.

"Out like a light," she replied with a nod of her head. Silence hung in the air around them as Hermione drank her tea. When she finished, she set her mug on the table and settled back to Harry's side.

The Boy-Who-Lived looked around the not yet homey apartment— they were only going to paint the dull white walls of the next day, hopefully bringing some life and warmth— and he frowned. "Are you sure you want to live here, Hermione? It's so far from home and it's not too late to change your mind."

The girl in question sighed mentally. She'd been expecting this kind of conversation since Harry and Teddy surprised her yesterday morning by showing up on her doorstep. She knew it was now or never to address the issue and set things straight. "Yes, Harry," she said, "I'm sure. I'll make this my home now." She gave him an affectionate pat on his chest hoping that was enough to ease his worries but she knew that wasn't enough. It was Harry after all, the king of puppy eyes.

She tried not to let Harry's sad green eyes make her feel even the slightest bit of guilt about her move but he was making that a difficult task. "But why? You had a great job back in London, you could even do this job from your flat back home. I don't understand why you'd want to move all the way to America. We have portkeys and floos to make transportation easy," he said.

Hermione pulled away from his side so she could look him straight in the eye while she explained. "It's just time for a change, Harry," she responded, "and you or anyone else who wants to visit me could use those same portkeys and floo connections. You and I both know that the Magical Community back home is so stagnant. The rest of Europe, while advancing at a quicker pace than the UK, isn't much better. The community here is still so young and open to experimentation. I want to be here, to meet and work with people who are just as invested in new research and development as I am. And being here will open so many doors, Harry. Please don't take this away from me because you want me to stay back home— working for a ministry that's still trying to hold me back because of my blood… even after everything we've fought for."

They were both silent with that answer.

"Don't I deserve more than that?" she asked.

Harry sighed looking away from her. She put a hand on his cheek and gently made him face her again and he ran a hand through his messy dark hair. "Of course you do, love." He pulled her close for a hug. "I just hate it when you're right."

Hermione lightened the somber mood with a small laugh. "Well," she began, "I wouldn't be Know-It-All-Granger if I wasn't always right." She squeezed him back hoping he'd take all the extra affection she sent his way as her wordless 'thank you/just because I'm far away doesn't mean I've left you or love you any less'.

"You're welcome and I love you too," he whispered.

Gently, she released Harry from her hug but didn't leave his side relishing in the comfort he offered her. It crushed her when she realized that it would be one of the last times she'd be able to just cuddle and relax like this with her best friend. She'd miss nights like this. Nights with the Weasleys. With Teddy. With the good ol'DA. And yet, life went on.

The comfortable silence continued for a moment longer but the slight tensing of Harry's body let Hermione know something else bothered her brother. She prepared herself for whatever he threw at her, hoping she didn't have to make another point about the move again. "Erm. Hermione, while you were putting Teddy to bed your mobile buzzed," he said.

She blinked caught off guard, that wasn't what she was expecting. "Was it a phone call?"

She felt Harry shrug and knew he didn't want to commit to an actual answer. Her eyes narrowed at him as she pulled away from his side again. "Really, Harry."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh alright. I'm pretty sure it was a message from that man you met at the bookshop," he replied with a tinge of annoyance in his tone.

Hermione's eyes lit up and she stood to get her mobile from where she left it on the kitchen counter. "Is there something wrong with getting messages from new friends?" she called from the other room as she scrolled through her messages.

Harry scoffed. "I don't think he wants to just be friends. Do you always have to pick up men from bookshops or libraries?" She stepped back into the living room but didn't respond right away because she was too busy smiling at her mobile and typing a response to whatever message she got.

Messaging done, she plopped back down onto the couch next to him— the mobile next to her. "Just how many men do you think I've picked up at a bookshop or library?" she asked, "Or should I remind you that technically it was Viktor who picked me up at the library. Other than him, I don't recall picking any of my former lovers from said bookshops or libraries."

"Well," Harry paused trying to gather his thoughts. "Okay. Fine. But I say you stay away from him. He looks like bad news. And he's not your type."

Hermione laughed. "And you know what my type is? Honestly Harry. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of yours."

"Of course I know your type! You're my best friend, love."

She rose her brow in questioning. "Okay. And why isn't Derek my type then?"

Harry stuttered for a moment. "Well. He looks like the alpha-male type. Probably all brawn— addicted to working out and only looking for a bit of fun."

Another burst of laughter escaped passed Hermione's lips. She just couldn't believe what was coming out of Harry's mouth. "What if I only want a bit of fun too, hmm?" At Harry's flabbergasted expression she rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Harry. Don't be so innocent. I don't always want something serious. And if that's your final argument it's terrible. I give you a Dreadful. Should I remind you that for one, four of my former paramours are Quidditch Players either pass-time or professional. And all of them were Alpha-males in their own right. Now, if you weren't so dead set on finding me a _nice boy_, you wouldn't be so biased."

Harry pouted while Hermione continued. "You're also just being picky because he's American." Harry opened his mouth to retort but his best friend's mobile buzzing interrupted him. He glared at it. Derek was already getting in the way of proper arguments and he wasn't even present. "Besides. I was going to make friends over here at some point. Some of them were inevitably going to be of the _male_ variety. Are you going to stop me from having friends?"

He sighed. "Can you just stop being right for one night? Or at least let me win an argument once in a while?"

"Never."

Harry brought on pout 2.0. "Fine. As long as friends is all you'll be with this Derek."

Hermione didn't answer him right away yet again because she was busy texting away. When she finally did acknowledge her best friend it was with a giant marauder-worthy grin. "I promise _nothing_."

* * *

Ah! The response has been so great for the first piece! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work and leave your thoughts! I wrote this little piece today during my break between classes and it was definitely a welcome break. I hope you enjoy this one just as much as the first! I'm only sorry that it's a little short!

To answer some comments/questions:

I'm SO happy to know that readers enjoyed the first piece! I have to agree with the general consensus that people are in want of Hermione/Derek stories! We have to bring more onto the scene! :D I'm most likely going to update this collection a bit more before getting my larger piece out; but I'm working on both simultaneously! I'm not sure when the larger piece will be posted but I'll try my very best not to keep everyone waiting too long! I do know Derek got a girlfriend on the show, but I won't be bringing her into my pieces because I have no idea what her character is like and it'll be unnecessary drama. I chose Derek for this story because as much as I love reading Hermione/Spencer, I wanted a change and couldn't find it anywhere. I decided it was time to make my own to satisfy my needs haha.

So again, THANK YOU SO MUCH, to everyone who read, followed, favourited, and reviewed! I really appreciated it!

Paramour Party Out~

P.s: This piece is the evening of the first piece. And no. Harry and Hermione never dated. They're just the bestest of best friends and I hope this reflects that. (I put Ron on work assignment and that's why he's not present~ don't worry, he and Hermione's friendship is still strong!) Also! should I list this as Complete since they're one shots?


	3. Oblivious

**Novelty  
**_Oblivious  
_By: Paramour Party

Derek slung his go-bag over his shoulder and followed the rest of his team off the plane onto the landing strip. As they walked towards the cars to head back to the office, he pulled out his cellphone from his pocket to check the time (5:33am) and noticed he had an unread message waiting for him.

**Hermione G ** 5:07am

_Clooney seems to know you're on your way home. He's been up and about like an energetic child for hours. Are you sure he isn't an overgrown puppy?_

He chuckled to himself earning a few curious glances from his friends. "We'll drop off our paperwork and reconvene monday morning for the final compilation. Is that okay with everyone?" Hotch asked as he walked to one of the two cars designated to them.

The team gave their affirmations and separated towards the two cars. "You wanna drive?" Prentiss asked Derek while Reid got into the backseat. She stared at him curiously as she watched his thumbs fly over his phone typing away. He paused to look up at Prentiss and nodded. "Yeah, sure," he replied while he opened the driver's side door and slipped into the car.

**Derek M** 5:40am

_I never said he wasn't an overgrown puppy. Don't judge. _

_I just landed. I should be by to pick him up around 7:30 or 8. Is that okay?_

He smiled to himself and left his phone in one of the cup holders for easy access. Prentiss shared a look with Reid through the window and the younger male just shrugged. She returned the gesture before getting into the passenger seat.

Derek turned on the radio at a low volume and soon enough they pulled out of the parking lot behind Hotch, Rossi, and JJ's car. He glanced at Prentiss for a moment before peeking at the rearview mirror to look at Reid. "Why are you both so quiet?"

"It's early," came Reid's reply, but to Derek it sounded more like a question. _Suspicious_.

Prentiss nodded in agreement. "Too early to function without a proper cup of coffee," she added "or four in Reid's case." The silence that followed her response was interrupted by Derek's phone buzzing. She eyed it, intrigue getting the best of her again and she tried to make out the message.

**Hermione G** 5:45am

_Welcome back! And good morning. That works for me, Clooney will be ecstatic to see you so early. You owe me breakfast. _

"But someone is up early enough to be messaging you," she said with a grin. Another suspicious grin.

_Oh, so that's how it is then_, Derek thought to himself. He rolled his eyes knowing where this would lead. "I left Clooney with a friend of mine, I'm just giving an estimate on when I'll be by to pick him up."

"Sure," she responded, "We'll go with that."

"What's not to believe?" he asked.

Spencer smothered some sort of comment behind a cough. While Prentiss just laughed. "Really, Morgan?" she asked in disbelief. "What sane person would be up at this time? On a saturday?"

"Anyone taking care of my dog apparently," came his reply.

The radio filled the silence again as Prentiss stared at her friend. Derek thought if she lacked the level of poise she always held, she'd be staring at him wide eyed and mouth agape. The woman swivelled to look at Spencer. "Does he really think we're that oblivious?"

Spencer shrugged again. "Maybe. Although, you can't fault him for believing we wouldn't profile his odd behaviour."

Derek couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes again. "Quit talking like I'm not here."

Prentiss ignored him out of spite. "I mean, really, he's been so obvious. How many women has he consistently messaged at ungodly hours? And how many of those women actually respond in a timely manner?"

"Just wait a minute!" Derek tried to interject but Spencer cut him off.

"None that I can recall."

When they stopped at the red light, Derek turned away from the road to give both his friends a quick glare. "Who says I've been messaging a woman?"

Prentiss' suspicious grin was back. "Your phone did," she replied. "Hermione is a pretty name. Shakespeare right?"

Derek's brows furrowed together. His friends were determined to make him dizzy by causing multiple eye-rolls. "Hermione is a friend. She's looking after my dog," he said with a tone of finality.

In what Derek assumed was an attempt to keep poised, Prentiss gave him a slow blink before she gave out a burst of laughter. "Oh my god!" she said, "He seriously thinks we're that oblivious!"

Reid in the back gave in to his chuckles and joined Prentiss in the teasing. "We haven't really considered the possibility that he isn't even aware of how different he's been acting," Reid said, "Denial maybe? It _has_ only been a couple of months."

Prentiss continued laughing. "Oh! Oh this is great. The great ladies' man, Derek Morgan!"

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Derek gave out a mechanical laugh. He had to stop himself from banging his head on the steering wheel. "Laugh all you want, I'm not in denial." When the two settled their laughter, Prentiss gave him this smile. One that would have sent chills down a lesser man's spine. It was the kind of smile that held all the secrets of the world. It was only later, after they settled all their files at the office and decided to call it a morning that Prentiss approached Derek again. But all she said was, "It's going to bite you in the ass. Hard. And when it does, I'll say I told you so."

He watched her walk away, confused and thoughtful. Despite their unspoken rule of not profiling your co-workers, it was an unconscious action amongst profilers. Did they really see something in him that he didn't? Should he be worried? 

* * *

The brief annoyances and worries of his morning was left on the back burner of his mind as he pulled up to a familiar fancy high rise apartment building in a nice mostly quiet part of the city. Killing the engine and grabbing the bag of groceries he picked up on the way to Hermione's place, he exited his car and walked up the driveway, buzzed Hermione's apartment, and once let in walked through the lobby. He waved at the security concierge and gave a nod as he made his way to the elevators.

At the knock on her door, Derek could hear the excited rumbling barks of Clooney and Hermione's laughter. In no time the door swung open and Derek took a step back to steady himself against Clooney's eager love attacks. Seeing his struggles Hermione took the bag he held and watched Clooney slobber all over Derek with amusement.

"Hey, boy! I've missed you too! But you gotta quiet down unless you want Hermione to get in trouble." Derek chuckled as he tried to calm his dog down and lead them back into the apartment. "Good morning, Hermione."

"Good morning!" Clooney had taken to circling them and Hermione took the moment of space to give Derek a quick hug. "I have coffee ready if you want a cup?"

Derek nodded. "Please and thank you!"

Hermione smiled and peeked into the bag she took from him. "What are these?" she asked as she set the groceries on her table and turned towards the cabinets above the sink to grab another mug.

"Well you asked for breakfast," he replied as he set out the food he bought onto the counter.

A small laugh burst passed Hermione's lips as she prepared Derek's coffee. She absently pet Clooney on the head as she passed him to give Derek his mug. "I was joking about that."

Derek shrugged as he turned to the sink to wash his hands and set out to make food for the both of them. "I owe you and what better bribe to have you continue to watch Clooney than a home-made meal a-la-Derek?"

Hermione rose a brow as she sipped at her own mug of coffee and looked down at the dog at her feet. "Your Derek thinks he's quite the charmer, hmm?" she asked Clooney with a grin. The large dog gave an excited bark in response and earned a rub down behind his ears.

Derek would have pouted if he were any other man, but his pride held him back from giving in to that urge. "It must be pick on Derek Day or something," he mumbled. It's been a practice of patience and it wasn't even near noon yet.

Hermione looked up at him. "What was that?"

"I was wondering if you wanted onions in your omelette?" he asked as he pulled out a knife and cutting board from her drawer with one hand and in the other, he shook a red onion towards her.

With a nod Hermione stood. "Sure," she replied as she walked towards her sink and washed her hands. When she was done she joined him at her counter and began pulling some ingredients to her side.

"Hey, hey, hey. What do you think you're doing?" Derek asked trying to take the vegetables back from her.

Hermione gave him a sharp look. "You can't expect me to sit around and do nothing while you cook in my home."

"Sure you can."

Clooney barked from his spot at their feet.

"See. Even Clooney agrees with me." Derek grinned as he pointed to her empty chair at her dining table. "Enjoy your coffee, I'll have breakfast done in a bit."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Derek was quick to interrupt. "Uh uh. Sit."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not a dog," she said as she took a seat and watched her friend prepare breakfast. She wanted to pout but she knew Derek would just tease her about it. Harry and Ron definitely do when they manage to get one up on her.

True to his word though, Derek had breakfast prepared in a jiffy and they were eating a hearty breakfast of eggs, vegetables, fruits, some fried seasoned potatoes he had picked up from his favourite diner and another large dose of coffee. Conversations were kept light, mostly updates on what had been going on her end of the States during the week Derek was away. They kept away from the topic of his case, but Hermione could see that small bit of darkness in his eyes his work sometimes caused.

When they stood to clear the dishes Hermione smiled at him, placing her hand over his. "At least let me do the dishes," she said. Derek grinned and raised his hands in defence. He knew he couldn't win them all.

"Why don't you take a seat on the couch, catch up with Clooney and I'll just tidy up here," she continued with a nod in the direction of her living room.

Derek nodded. "Fine, fine," he replied as he walked into the other room Clooney at his heels, tail wagging. Once the pair were settled on the couch, Hermione continued to smile to herself for a moment as she watched them cuddle on her couch. Derek caught her stare and winked before his giant puppy nudged his hand for another belly rub. Hermione blushed and looked away calmly while she busied herself with the clean up and silently berated herself for acting like a teenager. Although, with another quick glance at her friend she grinned to herself… No one would fault her for just looking. 

* * *

Derek hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until he woke up in a room that wasn't his bedroom. Disoriented for a moment, he recognized Hermione's living room despite the low angle he was viewing it from the couch. A light blanket was draped over him and Clooney huffed in his sleep beside him earning a soft rub between his ears. He could hear Hermione talking in the other room and as he sat up and stretched he saw she was leaning over her kitchen table, phone cradled between her ear and shoulder as she wrote into one of her many notebooks.

Hermione glanced towards him, her hand stilling over the page as she smiled in greeting to him quickly.

"Listen, Kings. I'll have the report reviewed by the end of the week but for now I have to go," she said as finished writing and then she closed her notebook. "Hmmhmm. Of course! It's been lovely chatting with you too. Take care. Give everyone my love for me! Bye."

By the time she was done Derek had stood up and made his way to her side with a sheepish look on his face. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you," he said apologetically.

Hermione laughed lightly. "Oh, Derek. Don't worry about. Honestly. You had a long case and then you came straight here. I'm happy you got some rest," she replied.

"I'll make it up to you," he insisted.

Hermione simply rolled her eyes. "If you really want to make it up to me, you can introduce me to some great running trails. I haven't had the time to look it up because of work," she said, "But I've managed to get an extra day off this week and the weather is looking nice."

She tried to reign in the blush she felt coming up at the look over and bright grin Derek gave her. "Huh, I did peg you down as a runner," he mumbled more to himself than her, "if you've got the rest of the day free, we can go now. I haven't been for a while and I know Clooney will love it too." He looked down at his watch calculating travel times and nodded to himself.

Hermione noticed the way his eyes seemed to light up and the exhaustion from his case seemed to fade away. A nice jog would probably relieve whatever stress his job put upon him, she thought to herself with a smile. "This works out perfectly then! I'll just get changed into proper clothes and pack us some water and snacks. Erm… do you have suitable clothes? Or will we be passing by your place?"

"Nah, I got some workout clothes in my car," he said as he straightened the reusable grocery bag he had brought earlier, "How about you get changed and I'll prepare the water and snacks and then we can be on our way."

Hermione nodded and turned towards her bedroom but paused. "One more thing…" she started, "I'm a little out of practice so…"

Derek interrupted with a nod of his head and his smile never faltered as he looked at her. "We'll go at the pace you set."

As Hermione turned back towards her room she couldn't help but wonder why her stomach flipped at those words. 

* * *

Before I get into apologizing/answering some questions  
I want to say : **THANK YOU** for all the great feedback and the following this collection has gotten.  
It really lifts my spirits that people are enjoying this as much as I enjoy putting it together!  
So again, thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

I apologize for the HUGE delay in updating. I want to say it was because I was busy… and don't get me wrong. I was… but I also "discovered" League of Legends. I say "discovered" because I've always known about it (watched my ex and a bunch of friends play it and been to "tournament viewing" parties)…  
but… I never played until recently. Soooo as you can now understand, what little free time I would normally dedicate to writing became "free time for LoL".

I'm sorry! I hope this piece can make up for the wait! I already have the next piece in the drafting works.  
I won't promise that it'll be up soon because Midterms are an evil I must defeat first.

Few things to address:

\- Someone asked if Hermione would be the only HP character to be featured in this. The answer is: She'll definitely be the focus. There will be some HP guests and mentions in the future though. At the moment, I can only confirm Luna, Harry, and Ron as the HP guests. (I'm thinking more will appear in my other story: Something Like Magic once I get around to writing that one).

\- Teddy's name being Theodore is more of a fanon thing because in the movies I don't think they ever really explained his name but in canon he's named after his Grandfather Edward "Ted" Tonks.

\- The timeline! It will be linear, but there could be huge time gaps between the different chapters or very little as you can now witness here. The first and second chapter happen within hours of each other. This chapter is a few months later (I haven't decided how long yet… maybe 3 or 4).

\- This chapter is UNEDITED (as of Oct. 19) because I really wanted to get this out before I forget. I'll come back when I have the time to edit whatever needs to be edited.


	4. Something Different

**Novelty**  
_Something Different_  
By: Paramour Party

The smell of fresh bread woke Hermione from sleep. She sat up confused and slightly disoriented by the sounds coming from her kitchen; as far as she knew, she'd had no guests last night and she doubted a thief would come in and make her a thank you breakfast. Besides, she knew her wards would take care of any unwanted intruders.

Slipping out of bed and pulling on a jumper, she peeked out into her hall, wand in hand as she verified her protection and safety spells. The familiar smell of berries and the runes floating within her specially modified wards made her sigh in relief; when she turned the corner she saw Luna sitting on her counter watching her bread rise in the oven.

"Good Morning, Hermione."

"Morning, Luna," Hermione replied. "I didn't know you were here… or even coming over."

Luna looked away from the oven with a dreamy smile. "Harry forgot to inform you of my visit so I decided to just wait until you woke. I left a letter on your pillow though."

Hermione just nodded sleep still hazing her senses but when it came to Luna, she rarely questioned her motives anymore, the woman did what she wanted whenever she wanted—time never really meant much to the blonde woman. A cup of coffee was set in front of her and Hermione gave her friend a thankful smile.

"What brings you over?" Hermione finally asked once they each had a cup of their morning elixir of choice. "Oh! Actually, now that you're here, I had a few questions I wanted to ask you about runes!" She was halfway out of her seat to fetch her notes before her friend rested a hand on top of hers.

Luna tilted her head to the side as she glanced up not necessarily in thought but as though she saw something only she could see. With a hum she replied, "Several things really." Seemingly out of nowhere, Luna pulled out a book on Fire runes.

"I think I tabbed off the pages that might interest you in your current project," she said as she set the book on the table, "but what I'm really here for is to ask you about your lion." Luna blinked and turned her attention back to her bookish friend.

Hermione settled back into her chair skimming through the pages of the books. "Sometimes I wonder how…" she trailed of at Luna's smirk. "Thanks, I owe you one!"

"You're avoiding the question about your lion," Luna noted.

Hermione nodded. "And you're talking riddles again. I don't have a cat anymore."

There was a beat and Luna hummed to herself staring at Hermione like she could see into her soul; and she probably could Hermione thought to herself. "You're right… and I supposed you're more of a dog person now." At that Luna looked up again at whatever it was she saw hanging around her living room ceiling (or she assumed Luna was looking towards that side of her apartment).

"By Lion, I mean your inner Gryffindor. I've been having nightmares about you losing her, but now that I'm here, I can clearly see I interpreted incorrectly… it's more like you're leaving her behind."

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

Luna levelled a stare at Hermione. "I'm talking about denial and bravery, Hermione. For someone of your stature I've never seen you hesitate for much and yet…" she swept her hand out towards where Hermione left her mobile phone the night before just as it buzzed.

Hermione felt a blush rush to her cheeks when she glanced at the screen and noticed it was a message from Derek.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're implying," Hermione mumbled as she reached for the mobile and read the text.

"I'm not implying."

"Are we really going to talk about men right now? It isn't like that…"

Luna just frowned. "Well, I doubt you'd talk about it with Harry or Ron. And if you want to get technical, I didn't come here to talk about men with you… rather, I'm trying to get you out of this denial slump you've managed to get wrapped up in. Besides. I'm not telling you to start something serious right away. Obviously you like this man. He likes you. I don't see any harm in having fun…" she paused her eyes sweeping across the room and then settled once more on her friend eyes glazing ever so slightly. Luna smiled. "Maybe I should appeal to your curiosity? I bet he's great in bed."

"Luna!"

The Ravenclaw just waved her hand in dismissal. "Oh shush," she said as she pointed towards the mobile. "Go on. Message him back. Have some fun and if something comes out of it, then be happy, Hermione."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't need a man to make me happy."

"No. You don't. But that doesn't mean he doesn't make you happy… stop arguing to argue. I already know I managed to push you to make your decision. Just be pleased that it's me here and not knocking on Mr. Morgan's door. Or worse, me telling Harry and the subsequent call which I'm sure will be equally as embarrassing as it will be frustrating."

The two shook their heads at the thought of their Boy-Who-Lived. "Honestly, I don't understand Harry sometimes," said Hermione.

Luna laughed. "I don't think the man understands himself sometimes. He'll warm up to the idea of you dating American men eventually."

Hermione huffed in disbelief. "What do you keep staring at anyway?" she asked while turning in her seat to see if she was worthy enough to catch a glimpse of what Luna was so interested in. When she didn't get a response she looked back at her friend only to see a small smirk that was so out of place on her friend's face. It was a mischievous expression Hermione thought George or Ginny donned on more often than not.

"Oh. Nothing."

Hermione's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Luna hummed and smiled brightly.

* * *

**Hermione G** 11:13am  
_Would you like to have lunch at the diner today?_

**Derek M** 11:20am  
_You read my mind. Is noon okay?_

* * *

Hermione smiled to herself and felt a little silly for doing so. She glanced around the diner she and Derek frequented hoping no one noticed her grinning. It was strange how there were these small moments where Derek made her feel like a teenaged Lavender Brown. He didn't even have to be in the room! She wasn't stupid, it took her a little while, but she knew what the flutters and secret smiles meant and that scared her. If this was the 'normal' reaction to the people one was interested in, well… she could completely understand Lavender and Parvati's boy-crazy tendencies during their school days (she on the other hand had other things to think about while at Hogwarts and her crush and subsequent relationship with Ron was more filled with "sexual tension" than these happy-nervous bubbles she was currently experiencing).

She felt like blushing every time she admitted her attraction to Derek to herself and sometimes let a tiny daydream break the quiet routine of her research filled days. Hermione knew something was changing between herself and her friend. Slowly but surely the attraction and allure that had sparked their friendship was becoming clearer between them everyday; that line separating the "Just Friends" category from the "Something More" was fading oh-so-gradually. With that train of thought though, brought the dreaded "What if"s and "But"s.

Hermione shook those thoughts away; dwelling on them would just make her nerves act up. Luna was right. Nothing serious had to come out of it right away if at all. She's had her share of flings so this shouldn't be much different… Hermione wanted to grip her hair and pull it out in frustration. It shouldn't be too different from any other fling she'd had at all! She's always said, whatever happens, happens… but this was Derek. Her friend, possibly her best friend- well after Harry and Ron- But still! And who's to say he'd even want to venture down that path of sexy fun or more? What if he was content in being "just friends". Dear Merlin, she utterly failed at keeping away from those horrible thoughts of what-ifs and buts.

The bell hanging above the entrance door jingled as it opened and in strode Derek with his confident gait. There were slight bags under his eyes that weren't visible the last time she'd seen him, but she knew it came from the last case he and his team had worked on. The air around him was all wound up and tense with stress and Hermione had to stop herself from frowning in worry. Derek surveyed the diner and when his eyes landed on her, the tension in his shoulders eased just a little and he grinned. Hermione smiled back ignoring the flutter in her heart that rose.

She stood from her seat and hugged him, pushing just a tiny bit of positive energy to relieve some of the more negative air surrounding him. "Derek!" His arms wrapped around her and squeezed tight and felt the rest of his tension leave his body. He pulled back just enough to see her face and his smile brightened.

"I really needed that, thank you," he said before he pulled away with just a lingering touch of his hand brushing back some of her unruly curls from her face.

They both took their seats across from each other in their usual booth. "Oh honestly, Derek. You never have to thank me for giving you hugs." Conversation carried on as it usually did, their usual orders placed in front of them in no time, and they dug in. Even so, Hermione could still see the lingering stress in Derek's eyes.

Their conversation lulled slightly as they worked on finishing their meals. Hermione hesitantly reached out and put her hand over one of his. "Derek, are you alright? It's just, you seem a bit more stressed out than usual. I mean. I understand your job in general is stressful but…" she trailed off unsure of what to say.

He sighed. "I'm sorry if I'm a little out of it. Cases with kids always get to me." That was all he offered and Hermione nodded and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring squeeze of his hand.

"Maybe… Maybe you could think of a way to help you clear some of those thoughts when they become a little overwhelming?" she asked.

Derek thought for a moment. "You mean like smoking?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose at that. "I'd never encourage the habit. And don't suggest drinking next. That's all good and fun in a social setting, but it's not conductive for clear thinking."

Derek leaned forward on the table resting his head on one hand. "Well… I'm afraid I'm out of ideas then." He couldn't help but watch her as she tapped her chin in thought. "What do you do? Besides biting the ends of almost all your pens or brushing your hair into a pretty impressive afro."

She huffed and pouted. "I don't bite my pens."

Derek hummed in a way that suggested he didn't believe her but was agreeing anyway.

"I don't."

He chuckled and noticed she didn't deny that her hair seemed to always expand around her whenever she was stressed. There were times when he's witnessed it that he thought she reminded him of a lion. "Okay. You don't bite the ends of your pens. You bite the caps. Either way, what do you do when you need a moment to clear your thoughts?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, but a slight tinge of pink rose on her cheeks. "Well, if you really want to know… I fold paper cranes…" she admitted.

Derek blinked in surprise. That was not what he expected. "Really?"

Hermione nodded, opening her purse, pulling out a notebook and ripping out a page. "It's a habit I started back in school. I focus on the task of folding a paper crane and I let no other thoughts bother me while I do it."

He watched her cut a square out of the rectangular sheet before proceeding to make crease after crease and fold after fold and in no time, a white paper crane sat between them and their dishes. Derek glanced up at Hermione and took in her small smile and couldn't help but smile back.

"See?" she said as she presented it to him.

"It's cute but I don't think I can fold one myself."

Hermione laughed. "Well, I wasn't exactly suggesting you take up the hobby of folding paper cranes. I'm sure you'll think of something that could help you clear your thoughts." She had pulled out a pen from her bag and started doodling on the crane's wings.

Derek continued to watch his friend and took in the peaceful look on her face. His thoughts were interrupted though when his phone buzzed and a message from work had him sighing.

"I'm sorry I can't hang around," he said as they both stood to pay.

"Oh stop that nonsense, Derek," she said, "I do understand that a lunch break is only a lunch break and I definitely don't encourage skiving off work."

They stepped out of the diner and she walked him to his car. "Take care of yourself okay? Try not to stress out too much. Oh. And maybe, if you're not on a case this weekend we can do something? It's been a while since we've done something outside of eating," Hermione laughed. She pulled him in for a hug and Derek reciprocated whole-heartedly.

"I'll keep you posted for this weekend then," he said as he held her close.

"I'm looking forward to it," she replied.

She was slow when she pulled away from the hug and Derek thought he saw something flicker on her expression. Before he could really see it though she was coming close again, her lips pressing against his cheek. The unexpected action nearly froze him in his spot but she was pulling away again, her smile never failing. She was saying something that didn't quite register in his head before Hermione was waving and heading off in the opposite direction.

Derek slipped into his car his mind up in the air. He'd known early on in his friendship with Hermione that she was a tactile person. She easily gave in to hugs, a touch here and there to convey whichever emotion she was feeling (a reassuring squeeze or an annoyed punch usually), sometimes leaning against his shoulder was something she was comfortable with, or even a few times, tucking into his side when they sat on his or her couch watching a movie. But never, had she ever kissed his cheek before.

He couldn't deny that he was attracted to Hermione. Hell, that attraction to her was what prompted him to go talk to her almost a year ago anyway. But when that encounter blossomed into an unexpected friendship instead of the initial fling he thought it would, he found himself okay with that. It'd been a while since he found a friend outside of the BAU and Hermione was a breath of fresh air especially when he didn't want to be haunted by what they saw nearly day in and day out. She seemed to always know exactly what to say and when to say it to relieve some of his stress and she'd never know how much he appreciated her presence in his life.

But this… This simple tiny kiss on his cheek sent his thoughts spiralling back to the kinds of thoughts that went passed friendship. Was this her way of saying she was interested in something beyond friendship? He wished he'd been paying better attention. He blinked. He'd have to start paying better attention, especially since he found himself pulling into his work parking lot without even realizing he left the diner.

He knew he had a large grin on his face and he tried to contain it knowing his team would be more than suspicious about the sudden change in mood. He didn't want to deal with their teasing just yet. As he made his way into the bull pen he composed himself and nodded when Hotch said they were going to have a quick (and that probably meant not-so-quick and much-more-gruelling) meeting in thirty minutes.

Prentiss rose her brow at him as he settled at his desk. "Good lunch?"

"Yeah, pretty good. Ever been to Gio's Diner?"

The woman's lip twitched as she glanced back at Reid. "Can't say that I have."

Derek's phone buzzed and he reached into his pocket and paused slightly confused. Pulling out his cell phone, he reached in again for the paper he knew wasn't in his pocket before. When he opened his hand, Hermione's paper crane, slightly bent from the travel, rested on his palm.

"Is that an origami crane?" Reid asked.

Derek nodded as he looked at all doodles on the wings. There were a few generic hearts and tiny flowers and vines on one wing. The other though, had words written in neat cursive script. Noli Vinci A Malo Sed Vince In Bono Malum.

He could feel Reid peeking over his shoulder at the paper crane. "Is that Latin?" The Boy Genius tilted his head slightly trying to get a better read of the words. Latin bringing curiosity out in Prentiss brought her over to Reid's side.

"Hey, hey, hey. What ever happened to a thing called privacy?" Asked Derek as he tried to hide the crane.

Prentiss scoffed. "There's no such thing as privacy amongst profilers. We just play pretend," She said while Reid looked a little sheepish for invading Derek's space. "Come on, we just want to see."

With a roll of his eyes, Derek held out his hand and Prentiss plucked the crane out of it. She was gentle though, knowing that it seemed to bring some peace to her friend.

"Interesting choice in the quote," said Reid in a tone that Derek recognized as the beginning of an impromptu fact spiel. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. It's a part of quote from the bible. Hmmm… Saint Paul's Epistle to the Romans, if I'm not mistaken."

Derek tuned out his friend for a moment to glance at the message on his phone. He couldn't contain the grin he held in anymore.

**Hermione G** 1:22pm  
_Don't forget to think about your own Paper Crane habit!_

**Hermione G** 1:23pm  
_But remember, I don't actually mean picking up origami._

He chuckled to himself missing the knowing looks shared between Reid and Prentiss. He could definitely think of a couple of things that could prove helpful in clearing his head of negative thoughts. Most of them involved Hermione.

* * *

FIRST: Happy belated New Year! _**Thank you to all my patient followers and readers who wait for my infrequent updates.**_ I really appreciate all the reviews and messages I've received (And for those who wished me luck on my midterms, thank you again! They went very well)! I feel terrible that I'm not one of those frequent updaters, and I wish I had the time and energy to just pump out content as well as others do. But I'm trying my best! _**So thank you**_ for putting up with it!

This update was a little difficult to write because I went through a break-up just before the holidays and writing fluff or budding romance of any kind just wasn't working out very well. I'm definitely doing much better though! I just hope my break-up didn't affect the writing/emotion of this piece too much.

Things to address:

\- A few of you have expressed interest in Hermione's job! It's a mix of a few things that I don't really want to get into just yet because it may or may not come up in a later piece anyway. :) Hermione and Derek's job won't clash in Novelty.

-A few of you also expressed an interest in when the BAU and Hermione are actually going to meet. I mean, as you've read from this chapter, almost a year has passed since Derek and Hermione first met, but the BAU still haven't met her. Don't worry. It will be soon! And by soon, I don't mean the next piece… If the characters cooperate with my muse the way I want them too, I'm hoping some of the BAU will meet Hermione after two or three chapters more chapters. I can't guarantee that though, I mean, I hadn't planned on Luna showing up this soon but she insisted on visiting Hermione… so I let her.


	5. Liquid Courage

**Novelty**  
_Liquid Courage_  
By: Paramour Party

There were moments when Derek just looked upon Hermione in awe of how much passion and dedication the tiny woman put into everything she did. He couldn't doubt that it had to be tiring but she just kept going, pushing limits beyond boundaries any normal person seemed to have.

Sometimes, Derek thought Hermione reminded him of fire. Mesmerizing. Powerful. Stubborn with a touch of ruthlessness that she held on to (with a ferocity that sometimes scared him) when she needed it. She was intelligent and confident in herself and her abilities and she always knew when she shouldn't, couldn't, back down.

He figured she was a fighter, not necessarily in the physical sense, but in the way she stuck to her loyalties and her beliefs with a drive that at times left him breathless. And while she was a fighter, that fact couldn't be denied (the old faint scars that marked her skin clarified these thoughts), Derek realized that at the core of "What Made Hermione" was also a survivor.

After the initial first impressions at that book shop a year and some months ago, he first thought she was a bit of a troublemaker (still was one if her sexy mischievous smirk or scheming glint in her eyes was any indication). He'd noticed that while she tended to follow the protocols at her job more often than not, she seemed to get away with blowing those same protocols aside to do things her way if she knew she was right.

It was after that Derek noticed the fighter in her. It wasn't only the scars that pointed to that glaringly obvious point, but really from Hermione's person; the way she guarded herself and her friends around her; the way she stood tall and ready to beat down anyone brave enough to challenge her; and even from the way she didn't back down from a verbal debate… Hermione was a fighter, one who'd seen the both the winning and losing side of a battle but still held herself up with pride.

The survivor named Hermione on the other hand was hidden further down in her core and it took a little longer for Derek to see. But when he did… it only made him wonder what shaped her into who she was today. The survivor Hermione hid well was a world-weary woman; she was the glimpse into the exhaustion of all that fighting but she was also the determination that still pushed forward through all obstacles because that was what survivors did. And yet, it was also this side of Hermione that guarded all her secrets and insecurities. It was the side that flinched if something or someone managed to surprise her; it was the side that would at times, when worry or stress took over, leave Hermione hunched over herself a hand rubbing at her forearm or her sternum. It was this side of Hermione that brought out an aspect of Derek's personality he had previously only reserved for his family and his team. The Protector. He wanted to keep her safe but not like a shield or the knight in shining armour, because he knew she could fight her own battles, but he wanted to be at her side, every step of the way. A partner.

He pursed his lips together. The dynamic in their relationship was changing; going down a path that both excited him and made him wary. What if it ruined everything he didn't know he needed and wanted in his life?

"Derek?"

The man blinked at the expectant stare Penelope was giving him and realized he'd been staring at the same page on his file for at least ten minutes.

"You okay?" The colourful Tech Analyst asked with concern written all over her face, "You looked a little upset for a moment there."

Derek nodded and gave her his usual easy-going-grin. "I'm fine, Baby Girl. Did you need something?"

Penelope gave him a skeptical look. "It's just about break time, I called in some Chinese for the team and I was about to pick it up if that interests you?"

With a grin and a stretch of his arms Derek nodded and stood from his seat. "Sounds good," he replied as he followed her out of the pen and to the parking lot.

"You sure everything is okay?" Penelope asked as Derek drove them back to headquarters from the Chinese take-out joint several blocks down, the warm containers of food on her lap.

Derek spared her a glance and reached a hand over to pat her arm reassuringly. "Don't worry, Baby Girl. Just tired."

He couldn't see Penelope's frown but from the corner of his eye he noticed she'd crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. "Hmm. Right… Tired. Listen, Derek, I know you want privacy and whatever, but you don't have to keep everything bottled up inside, didn't work so well with JJ now did it? I won't tell anyone if you had a fight with your girlfriend or need advice on grovelling for her forgiveness or something."

Derek nearly slammed on the breaks in surprise. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on just a minute here and rewind, will you? There's no girlfriend or fight or grovelling for forgiveness. Where is this all coming from?"

She blinked in surprised. "Huh. We all thought you'd gotten into an argument with your girlfriend at some point last week. You've been pouting," she replied with a light laugh, "It was kind of cute but the sulking puppy eyes got old after day two."

"Where is this girlfriend nonsense coming from? And who is 'we all'? The team? The whole team thinks I'm dating someone? You've has been gossiping behind my back about my non-exsistent girlfriend?" He pulled into the parking lot as quickly as he could so he could face his friend for this conversation. When he did turn to face her, he found only amusement gleaming in her eyes and a cocky smirk on her red painted lips. "And I haven't been sulking."

"You can't honestly tell me you're not dating someone right now," Penelope said, "And you have _so_ been pouting. All week."

"I'm not."

Derek's Baby Girl stared him down and scoffed. "Okay. Fine. Tell me about this girl friend then."

"I don't have one," Derek insisted.

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid. I'm asking you to tell me about this friend of yours, who happens to be of the opposite gender. Whether or not you're dating, we all know you have a new woman in your life and I want to know about her." She levelled another stare at her friend. "You're lucky I'm even asking you. I could just pull up your phone records for the number you've messaged the most in the last month. I can have the name, the address, and everything else even you don't know about her in my hands in less than two minutes. Don't test me."

The stare down was intense and he knew Penelope wasn't joking. He pulled the key from the ignition and leaned back in the driver's seat. "We're honestly not dating," he finally said.

"I'm sensing a but here."

Derek shrugged. "I'm just worried something more will ruin everything we already have. Working for the BAU is stressful enough on its own—"

"Are you really going to let your job, or even your co-workers failed relationships as an excuse not to have a potentially amazing relationship with a woman you're half-way in love with?" Penelope interrupted, "You miss all the shots you don't take Derek and that's more of a tragedy than actually trying and finding out it wasn't meant to be."

He didn't say anything but a silent understanding passed between them as they exited the car.

"Is that why you've been pouting all week?" She suddenly asked as they entered the elevator.

Derek rolled his eyes this time. "I haven't been pouting…"

Silence rang between them.

"…She's been out of town on a work assignment for a week."

Penelope let out a loud laugh.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen. Ladies' Man, Derek Morgan pulling out the puppy eyes for his not-girlfriend because she's away."

* * *

It was two days later after long hours of contemplation, an intense workout with some old friends from the bomb squad, and some winding down at his favourite bar, that Derek came to a decision. The liquid courage (two shots of Jack Daniels) his old team handed him, might have also helped some in way.

"Never thought I'd see the day, Derek Morgan, needed a shot or two to be able to charm his woman." His old team-mate, John, said as he ordered another round of drinks for their table.

"I don't need alcohol to charm my woman."

John laughed. "And you're supposed to be a profiler."

There was a round of laughter around him and it took everything he had to refrain from rolling his eyes or sulking. Apparently ever since he met Hermione everyday became "Tease Derek Morgan Whenever You Can" Day.

"You invite her out tonight while with us instead of your precious BAU team because you don't want them to profile her before you can even ask her to go steady or whatever; and you've already had two shots." A man named Daniel said.

"Shut up."

His phone buzzed in his pocket and a quick glance at his screen had him grinning.

**Hermione G** 12:24am

_Almost there. My co-workers decided they wanted to pass by for some drinks as well. Although, you didn't hear it from me but it's more like they wanted to meet some fit FBI boys (their words not mine). _

"I don't know whether to be amused by this side of Derek or jealous that he's managed to find himself a steady broad who understands the hectic hours," another man, Marko, said.

It was only moments later when three women made their way towards their table that Derek stood with nerves settling at the sight of her. Hermione was in his arms giving him the hug he's missed for the passed week and a half. "God, I've missed that." He told her and she laughed lightly and gave a gentle pat on his arm.

"I've missed that too," she admitted.

Introductions were quickly conducted across the table and more rounds of drinks ordered. The night passed with not-so-secret glances as they sat next to each other, or even from across the room during the brief moments they were separated. There were gentle lingering touches on the arm or the leg when they moved to stand or sit. The growing crowd and the rising volume of chatter and music had them leaning into each other to be able to speak and hear.

Once their table slowly started to branch out into the night, Derek and Hermione hung back a little longer, comfortable in their little nook moving to the music in a dance slightly away from the crowd. A bolder touch of Derek's hand pulling Hermione closer. A returned gesture came from Hermione as her own hand went up and around his neck to steady herself.

His heart pounded in his chest as he brushed back a curl from her face and he wondered if she could feel it. He leaned down pressing a soft kiss to her cheek and traced a light line with his nose across her own before kissing the corner of her lips. He felt her smiling.

"Are you just going to tease me, Derek Morgan?" she asked.

He pulled away watching her with dark eyes as she licked her lips. He grinned at her smirk and his hands went from their firm grip on her sides to the small of her back pulling her even closer. "Haven't you been teasing me?" he asked.

She looked up at him, eyes light with mischief and dark all the same with desire. Her other arm wrapped around his neck and she pulled him down as she leaned up to meet her lips with his. A hum of pleasure rippled through them and everything was right. His hold on her tightened ever so slightly as he ran his tongue along the bottom of her lip. He could feel her smile against his own lips before their kiss deepened with a sense of fire that only felt right with Hermione.

When they parted, Hermione had to steady herself with a strong hold on his shoulders. "Wanna get out of here?" she asked. They were out of the bar moments later hailing down a cab. The ride consisted of bold exploring touches and exchanging light kisses across each others lips and cheeks and jaws and necks. And soon they were fumbling their way into Hermione's apartment where the moment the door was locked behind them Derek had her pressed against the wall of her hallway kissing her in the way he'd only fantasized about for months.

The quiet apartment was suddenly filled with soft surprised gasps, light laughs and mischievous chuckles, and the whispers of the outer layers of clothes dropping to the floor. Hermione, her lips still pressed against Derek's, tried to pull him towards her bedroom but he'd suddenly pulled away, arms gripping the door-frame of her room.

"Wait," he said. Hermione stepped away quickly, worry written all over her flushed face.

Derek stared down at her, drinking in the sight of her heaving chest and flushed skin, the darker mark he'd left next to her collarbone. She was perfection.

"What's wrong?" she asked and he can hear her trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.

He shook his head and pulled her close to reassure her nothing was wrong. "Nothing. God. Hermione, nothing is wrong. Don't think I don't want this," he said as his hands travelled down to her backside gripping her bum tightly for a moment as he pressed close to her again. "Because I do. I really do. But not like this. With too much alcohol in our systems. With too much risk of regret in the morning."

He kissed her cheek as he hands travelled up to the middle of her back. "But I won't regret it in the morning," she insisted as she tried to tug him forward. "Unless you're implying you will?"

Derek chuckled. "Trust me, I wouldn't regret taking this step with you, Hermione," he said following her tug but he didn't let her pull him down onto her bed. "But I want our first memory of this to be more than just a drunken haze."

Hermione smiled up at him. "I'd have never pegged you as a romantic."

"I'm trying to be a gentleman," he replied, "If you were any other woman, Hermione, I might have continued on tonight, but I respect you and care for you too much to ruin this with hasty decisions."

She pouted slightly before leaning up to press a kiss, this one softer and sweeter than all the other ones they'd shared earlier in the night. "Will you at least stay the night? I washed some of your workout clothes you'd left behind a few weeks ago."

Derek nodded as he pressed another kiss to her lips and then her forehead. "I can do that." But eyed her suddenly playful smirk warily as she pulled away to get his clothes.

"And how about a bit of pretend playing randy teenagers making out on my bed after I've snuck you into my bedroom."

"Don't tempt me."

"But I am."

And she did. When he'd emerged from her washroom changed in a pair of sweatpants, Hermione was wearing probably the shortest sleeping shorts she own and a baggy tee-shirt that allowed easy access for warm wandering hands.

* * *

The next morning, Derek woke with a sudden nervous drop in his stomach when he found the bed empty and the spot Hermione had curled up next to him cooling. When he walked into the kitchen where Hermione was making coffee, he rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension; but the anxiety fell away when she turned to him with a bright smile. She had a shy expression on her face as she leaned towards him and kissed him, a light blush dusted across her cheeks.

"Good morning," he said against the shell of her ear before taking the mug of coffee she offered with an appreciative hum.

"Good morning."

They sat in a moment of comfortable silence, but Derek watched as Hermione's shy smile turned into that playful smirk she'd given him last night. She stood put her mug in the sink before facing him, leaning back against her counter.

"Is the morning after too close to the realm of 'drunken haze' to continue where we've left off last night?"

Derek stared, taking in her dishevelled appearance and the two marks he'd left on her neck. He stood, the last of his coffee forgotten on the table as he smirked down at her. "No, I don't think it is."

Laughter rang through Hermione's apartment as Derek grabbed her around her middle to pull her against him for a deep kiss. This time he willingly let her tug him towards her bed and let her bedroom door slam shut.

* * *

I apologize for the late update! This piece didn't want to cooperate and while I'm still not fully satisfied with how this came out I am happy I've finally reached this stage in their relationship! THANK YOU for all the love I've recieved on the last update~ I really wish I can be more frequent but life doesn't work that way for me unfortunately.

I hope you enjoyed this! I know there's no smut (but technically that isn't allowed on here), and I hope this is even allowed under the T rating? If you want an M-rated version, I can be tempted to write one~

Someone asked if Hermione is a werewolf because of the Alpha nickname from Teddy, but don't worry she isn't one, and Alpha will remain just a nickname! :)

And while Hermione's job has the aspect of research, it's not the only thing involved! It'll come up eventually~

I've recently joined twitter if that interests you! And I've become a lurker on tumblr on those rare moments of procrastination. If you want to friend/chat with me on those platforms links are in my bio or you can find me under ParamourParty!

Until next time!


	6. Trouble Maker

Novelty  
_Trouble Maker_  
By: Paramour Party

Derek frowned and turned to Prentiss at the desk beside him. "Do you think Garcia is giving me the cold shoulder or am I just reading into things incorrectly?" he asked.

He could see Emily roll her eyes. "She's giving you the cold shoulder." Her response was curt and firm and she didn't look away from her files.

With a quick kick off from his desk, Spencer rolled over to the pair. "She's even refused to give you her freshly baked cookies," he added, "your favourite chocolate ones too."

"I don't know what I did wrong." Derek dropped the file he was looking over with a sharp snap. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back into his chair in contemplation. "I've thought back to the last month and nothing comes into mind."

"Maybe you should think about what you haven't done," Prentiss said.

Derek eyed her and then Spencer. "You know something," he said with narrowed eyes. They both shrugged.

"But your chance to ask is here and now," said Spencer as he nodded towards Penelope whom had just walked into the bull pen.

The colourful Tech Analyst walked towards them with a familiar silver tin of cookies in her hand. She smiled kindly at Emily and Spencer, yet narrowed her eyes at Derek.

"Coffee break?" she asked as she held out her tin in offering. Emily and Spencer helped themselves to free double chocolate chip cookies and grinned at Derek who didn't bother to try and get one.

The four of them stood to walk to the break-room and prepped the coffee machine for a fresh pot of energy.

After a moment of silence Derek snapped. "Okay. That's it. I'm tired of this cold shoulder Baby Girl. I'm no psychic. What did I do wrong?"

Penelope's eyes seemed to sharpen and she frowned. She poked a finger on Derek's chest. "A month, Derek. We've been waiting for a month to meet your little girlfriend. Even your bomb squad met your girl before us all! I thought we were family! You're supposed to bring your girl around to meet the family!" She pouted.

Derek blinked while Spencer and Emily shared a laugh.

"Seriously? You've denied me cookies and gave me the cold shoulder because I haven't introduced you to Hermione?"

Penelope had a hand over her heart like she was trying to hold a wound closed. "How can you say it like it doesn't matter?"

Rossi, who had walked into the room with Hotch, just rose a brow at the dramatics. Hotch on the other hand had a rare small amused smile on his face but a secret in his dark eyes. JJ was quick to follow behind the pair, munching on a cookie. "Did I miss the show?" she asked.

Derek frowned at the fact everyone seemed to be in 'the know' on the girlfriend-cold shoulder issue. He didn't know why it surprised him to be honest, but to cover that he stood, hands on hips in what he hoped everyone read as "Alpha Male" instead of "hiding". He heard Hotch whisper to JJ that the show was probably just about to kick off. He nearly scoffed. They wanted a show? Dramatics? Fine, he'll give it to them.

"Well just to inform you, Rossi, who is a part of this family, has met Hermione," he declared. "So don't go saying she didn't."

A surprised silence fell over the room, Penelope, Spencer, JJ, and Prentiss staring at Rossi with a mixture of shock and betrayal. Hotch his a smirk behind his coffee mug while Rossi pinched the bridge of his nose, counting down for the explosion. 5…4…3…2—

"Traitor!"

Rossi sighed. "Listen, it was all by chance that I met Hermione," he said with his hands raised in defence.

"You should have insisted we meet her too!"

Rossi shared a look with Derek and shrugged. "Ask him," Rossi said throwing Derek under the bus.

"Thanks," he grumbled.

"You're welcome," Rossi replied.

"Am I the only one curious to know how Rossi managed to meet Derek's girlfriend before the rest of us?" Prentiss asked as she reached for another cookie from the tin.

"So are we confirming that Derek has a girlfriend?" asked Spencer amused.

"No! I just want to meet her. Don't think I can't just pull up her address and march over there!" Penelope said ignoring everyone else while JJ wondered out loud if Derek ever introduced them to a girlfriend before.

"Okay! Fine. I'm dating someone, and you can finally meet her. Just stop with the joking around and talking behind my back already," he said looking a little embarrassed and he tried to cover it with an eye roll. "Hermione should be back in town this weekend. We could… we could plan something out."

Penelope grinned, grabbing Derek into a hug with an excited squeal. "I have more cookies in my lair, come let's plan!" she said pulling him out of the room. "Does she like cookies? Or cupcakes? Or is she more of a muffin person?"

The rest of the team watched them amused for a moment before Prentiss turned her attention back to Rossi. "When did you meet her anyway?" she asked.

"What's she like?" Spencer piped in.

Rossi stared them down hoping they'd take it as a silent 'wait and find out', but when Prentiss merely rose a brow and crossed her arms over her chest expectantly, and JJ reached for another cookie like it was popcorn, he rolled his eyes.

"I met her two week ago. Remember when Derek left his car at home? We had to do a little detour."

"Detour?" asked JJ.

Rossi just shared an exasperated look with Hotch.

* * *

_Two Weeks Earlier_

Derek got into the passenger side of Rossi's car and stifled a yawn. "Hey, thanks again for giving me a lift home, I would have asked Garcia but I know it's date night for her."

"Don't worry about it," Rossi said as he settled into his own seat and started the car. "Want to grab bite before heading out? I don't know about you but I'm too lazy to cook tonight."

Derek nodded and the two set out to the usual spot. "Sounds good."

When they were seated and served their food there was a moment of comfortable silence between the two before Rossi cleared his throat. "So…"

Derek paused from his bite. "So?"

"I'm assuming things between you and your girl are going good? You're less pouty."

Derek scowled. "I'm not pouty." He looked up at his co-worker trying to read his expression, but Rossi had always been good at poker.

Rossi ignored his comment. "Want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

Rossi rose his brow and smirked before he hid it with his glass. "Well, after Garcia had her talk with you, you're pretty much free game on the girl-talk." He got an eye-roll in response. "I also had a very interesting talk with John. I think you know him. He said he was your Team Leader when you were on the B-squad."

"Gossips. All of you." Derek turned to aggressively cut into his meat.

Rossi rose his hands in defence. "Italian," he said. "Besides I just find it amusing that there's a woman out there who can get Derek Morgan tongue tied."

"You and everyone else," Derek mumbled.

Rossi chuckled. "When are we going to meet her?"

"She's out of town."

"Now you're just being stubborn. Are you going to at least stop hiding her?"

Derek's eyes widened. "Hiding her? I don't hide her."

Rossi scoffed. "Yes, that's why we have never heard, from your lips, that you're seeing someone. We have a name because you get messages from her often enough, but nothing concrete. You can't not know how curious the team is."

Derek frowned pointing his fork out. "Hey. We waited months for JJ to open her mouth about her relationship."

"Yes. So why should we wait months about yours?" Rossi asked before returning his attention back to his own food. "Just something to think about. Besides. You might want to think about what Garcia would do to you."

"How bad could it be?"

"How bad indeed…"

They were just getting into Rossi's car when Derek's cell phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at the UNKNOWN NUMBER written across his screen.

"Hello?"

[Hello? Derek? It's Hermione]

Derek paused and pulled the phone away from his ear to glance at the screen. "Hermione?" he asked. "Is everything okay?" He glanced at Rossi with a worried look on his face.

She didn't answer right away but she must have covered the microphone because whatever she said was muffled. [Derek? I'm so sorry to call you so late. I know you just got back from a case but these people are so bloody annoying. I need a favour.]

"What do you need? Is everything okay?"

[Yes. I'm fine.] she said, [I said I'm bloody fine stop that!] Derek assumed the second part wasn't for him but it worried him that she sounded so stressed out. [Anyway, I'm sorry if this is out of the way for you. Could you maybe sign me out and go home with you?]

"Wait. Sign you out? From where? Where are you? Are you sure you're okay?"

[Oh, sorry. I'm at the Mil Rose Clinic. There was an accident at work, my other emergency contact is here too so they were ruled out and I didn't want these bloody idiots calling you and having you worry for no reason.]

Derek gave out a weak chuckle. "No offence Hermione, but telling me that you need to be signed out of the clinic doesn't actually reassure me. I'll be there soon though."

There was a sigh of relief on her end. [Thank you so much, I owe you one.]

Derek glanced at Rossi at the end of the call. "Looks like you're getting your wish?" he said.

Rossi smirked. "Sounds like you have quite the girl on your hands."

"Just drive."

When they pulled up to the clinic thirty minutes later, Derek was rushing out of the car while Rossi followed at a slower pace. Instead he took in his surroundings and wondered why Derek's girlfriend was in the military district.

As Rossi entered the clinic Derek was talking to a nurse and filling out some paper work and he could hear a bit of a ruckus at the end of the hall.

"I'm not a bloody invalid!"

Derek's head snapped up at the voice and Rossi had to wonder what kind of girl his coworker was dating. Definitely a firecracker that was for sure. The noise was getting louder and three people turned the corner of the clinic. There was one nurse and one doctor, judging from the uniforms, and a short woman struggling between them.

Rossi blinked at the short woman with the messy curly hair. This was Derek's girl? She had her left foot wrapped in a blue brace and her right wrist as well. She pulled her arm out of the nurse's hold and stumbled slightly but glared when the nurse tried to come closer. "I can bloody walk on my own. And if I want to bloody visit Rob I can bloody well visit his room without the use of a wheelchair. Someone else in need of one can use it instead," she huffed. She pointed at the doctor with her good hand, "And you. Be sure to contact me as soon as he wakes up. I don't want to hear three hours after he wakes up, I don't want to hear about it when visit hours are open. The moment he's awake I know."

The accent was a surprise. Rossi's brow rose at the intensity in the woman and glanced at Derek who walked towards her with worry. He didn't seem to be surprised by her outbursts. He stayed back and watched their interaction.

"Hermione, what happened?"

"Oh thank god." The woman reached out and hugged him. "Like I said, small accident at work. It happens. I just want to go home." She waved it off with her good hand.

Derek frowned at her bruises and the wraps on her limbs. "You said your current project had no risks. This is the second time in almost as many months that you sprained something."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't talk to me about the dangers of the job. Yours is by far more dangerous. Besides, it's not my project that ended us up in here. I was consulting on Rob's." She didn't elaborate. "Besides, you know I heal fast. This is nothing."

Derek frowned. "Stubborn," he said but his tone was full of affection. Hermione grinned up at him. He pulled her close and pressed a soft kiss on the side of her temple that didn't have a bruise. He blushed slightly when he remembered Rossi was standing there with an amused look on his face. "Hermione, this is my coworker, David Rossi. Rossi, this is Hermione. Why don't you… talk while I finish the release forms." And with that he was out.

Hermione had a slight blush on her face. Rossi guessed it was partly because of her behaviour and probably from his unexpected presence. "He just left me to the wolves—or wolf in this case— didn't he?" she asked him with a smile. She held her hand out to him. "I've heard so much about you Mr Rossi, I'm Hermione Granger."

Rossi, not quite surprised by her firm handshake, smiled. "Pleasure, Ms. Granger. I'm afraid the team hasn't heard much about you."

She didn't seem upset by that and merely grinned with a slight shrug. "Hermione, please. Ms Granger throws me back to my school days and makes me feel like I'm about to get scolded. And I'm not surprised Derek's been tight-lipped. You are profilers," she said as though that explained everything. "I'm sorry we had to meet this way though. If I knew you were having boys' night I would have tried a different tactic to get released."

Rossi chuckled in amusement. Derek sure has his hands full. A trouble-maker? Who'd have thought? "How'd you meet Morgan?" he asked curiosity getting the better of him.

Hermione laughed. "Well, Derek pretended to read a book beside me for almost fifteen minutes without turning a page. Needless to say, I figured he wasn't in the history section for a book."

The two chuckled together and when Derek found them that way he couldn't help but feel nervous at their sudden camaraderie. "Nice to see you both being so buddy-buddy."

Hermione kissed Derek's cheek and gave Rossi a wink. "Isn't he cute when he pouts?"

Rossi laughed.

"I don't pout." Derek sighed.

* * *

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

I apologize this is so late. Real life got super crazy. But I won't get into that.

Hopefully you enjoyed this! I wanted to show another side of Hermione and figured it's about time we introduce her to the BAU.

As an apology I'm did a mass post this evening~ (Shameeeeelesssss plug)

Aside from this Novelty update, I have another Derek/Hermione One Shot posted called "First Time"— I wrote it for Mistra Rose for being my 100th reviewer here!

The other post is a new short (3 parts), another crossover. So if you're into Twilight or Imprint stuff check out my piece Kismet. It's a Hermione/Paul fic.

Until Next Time! 


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